Russia shipped a record 100 metric tons of gold to China — FT
In the first seven months of 2026, 100 metric tons of gold bullion of Russian origin were shipped to Hong Kong. This is three times more than during the same period last year and a record high for the entire period for which statistics are available.
By early August, the volume of shipments had already exceeded the total for all of 2025—85 metric tons. In July alone, 23.1 metric tons of gold were shipped to Hong Kong from Russia.
Most of the gold from Hong Kong eventually ends up in mainland China. At the same time, Chinese buyers often store gold in Hong Kong because there are no restrictions on the import of precious metals there, unlike in mainland China.
After the London market closed to Russian gold, suppliers from the Russian Federation redirected their exports eastward. Since the start of the full-scale war, approximately $35 billion worth of Russian gold has already been exported via Hong Kong.
At the same time, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation has also become a major seller of gold this year. Over the course of seven months, it sold about 50 metric tons of gold from its reserves in an effort to finance the budget deficit, which is growing due to heavy military spending. According to the IMF, this is the largest sale of gold by the Russian Central Bank since the 1998 default.
Source: Financial Times
In Kyiv, Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine had proposed to Russia—the aggressor state—that it temporarily suspend airstrikes during negotiations related to possible visits by U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
In the U.S., President Donald Trump stated that Special Envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are traveling abroad to try to reach a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia—the aggressor state.
